Nonnie Augustine is the author of two books. Her first poetry collection, One Day Tells its Tale to Another was named by Kirkus Review as a "Best of Indie 2013." Her new book, To See Who's There, published in August, 2017, is a collection of poems and short prose. Both books are available at Amazon.com. There is more information and reviews at http://www.nonnieaugustine.com/.

Translate

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, Florida

Road
Trip 2015

I’m
fat with poetry.

Atlantic
Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, Florida: five days of workshops with
Carolyn Forché’ readings by Carolyn,
Nick Flynn, and Benjamin Percy at night; meals all together sitting at small
enough round tables; participants from all over the US, and one (dear friend!)
from The Netherlands; a conference with editor Jeffrey Shotts from Graywolf
Press about my poems, which he’d read before our conference, which he’d made
notes on in green ink,in which he’d found no clunkers, about which he worried
over my penchant for narrative and encouraged a liberal smattering of lyricism
if at all possible in the final project to counter my propensity for density, and
during which he referred to my “chops,” “high level of writing,” and gave me
certain invaluable keys which may well unlock doors I’d bolted for no good
reason (see me gliding from his table in the library to Carolyn’s in the music
studio. See me glowing.)

Carolyn
Forché is:

a Sherpa guiding her students up, over, across, through

generous, incredibly generous

funny, relaxed, beautiful

knows writing, writers, tips, pitfalls and

willingly, easily, clearly shares all this

respectful, incredibly respectful

an enthusiastic, intuitive, organized, interested
teacher who teaches much more than poetry (although teaching poetry well is a
big fucking deal)

humble, even after a lifetime of being at the top of
her game.

worth every penny any of us spent getting to the ACA to attend to her and receive her attention
to us.

I’m
home again with my brother, our three inside cats, four outside cats, and
Blossom the dog, who outdid herself this time in her welcome performance. Every
time I look at our giant Applehead Siamese, Sam, I find him staring at me as if
he would pin me to the house, never to leave it again. My suitcases have yellow
elephants on them and the elephants like to go, but Drago has put them back up
in the attic; they’ll have to be patient. For five years now I’ve started the new
year with a writer’s workshop. It’s my vacation of choice and I appreciate that
I’ve been a lucky duck to be able to do these trips. A hermit of sorts, I’ve
loved my busy weeks of meeting new people, participants and guides, listening
to polished work from astonishing voices, chatting amiably around tables with
men and women who choose to be students for a week in the midst of their
full-flung lives, and the peaceful road trips I’ve had driving through back
roads and small towns. Here’s a bit of contemplating my navel for you: I kick
back, daydream, relax, wake-up, pull from within, push myself out there.

“may came home with a smooth
round stoneas small as a world and as large as
alone.” ― E.E. Cummings

“What
you’ve done becomes the judge of what you’re going to do – especially in other
people’s minds. When you’re traveling, you are what you are right there and
then. People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the
road.” – William Least Heat Moon

2 comments:

We've known each other for some time - I've always thought your writing really swell, but I have to say that it's better every year! I'm reluctant to credit the workshops for this - You have more to say - Like some fine wines, I think you improve with age.